Below the Surface
by idealwolffang
Summary: When Carmen is pulled into her brother's game, she is faced with circumstances that she wasn't at all prepared for. Can she deal with the consequences her actions have? Rated T for major character death and potentially dark themes.
1. Prologue

"Okay Josh, my turn. Off with you," Carmen sighed, leaning against his chair.

"One sec... Muffet's battle is difficult. I wanna beat it."

"You've been there playing for such a long time," Carmen pointed out, watching as her brother moved a purple heart between three strings as spiders and other attacks flew at it.

"So? What are you going to do that is so important, it can't even wait?" He asked, getting hit with a spider. "Leave me alone so I can beat this!"

"No. It's my turn. You've already beat this game like, what, three times?" Carmen said, rolling her eyes as her brother attacked the strange spider-girl-thing on the screen.

"Four. But yeah, it's a good one. I want the neutral ending where Mettaton becomes the king!"

"Ugh... can't it wait?" Carmen sighed, not being able to keep herself from smirking when her brother was hit by a flying boomerang-like object.

"Gosh darn it! My HP is so low now, and I'm not even close!" He sighed. "I should've saved that spider doughnut..." He glared at the screen as his 'heart' broke in two. "That's your fault."

"Yeah sure, whatever," Carmen sighed, shooing her brother away. "It's my turn. Go do... something else."

"One more try...' He whined, trying to sit down.

"My big-sister-veto-power says no."

"C'mon!"

"No. Go away. You've been playing _all day_."

Joshua stormed off, retreating upstairs into his room.

"Finally..." he sighed, sitting down and settling into the chair.

She's seen the ending screen a few times. _"Josh, you must stay determined!"_

She couldn't help but laugh at her brother obstinate behavior earlier. "If this is just making him more stubborn, I'm not sure if he should play this!" She laughed under her breath.

She moved the mouse to the exit button, waiting for the game to close.

Instead, the screen just flashed white. A wave of black washed over it, making it appear almost tunnel-like. She stared at it, trying to comprehend what was happened.

 _Did Josh get another virus in here?_ She wondered, starting to examine the computer itself. It seemed fine.

As she started to sit back up, staring back into the screen.

 _Is the screen okay?_ She wondered, moving her hand to check the wiring.

Her hand brushed the bright screen, filling her with a strange feeling.

 **DETERMINATION.**

Carmen felt her hand starting to dissolve.

"No no no no no..." She said, staring as her arm began to vaporize into dust. She looked down at her chest, seeing a red heart embedded in her flesh.

 _This isn't real..._ Was all she could think as she closed her eyes and waited for things to go back to normal.

* * *

 **A.N:** This story will more or less follow the plot of Undertale, but It will be from Carmen's point of view. I've made a few tweaks how the route will run as well. (i.e, Undyne becoming Carmen's friend, despite it not being a true pacifist run.) I have my reasons for these tweaks, and I hope that they will make some sense.

Also, for storytelling purposes, dialogue and the like will not match up perfectly with what is said in the game. I'll keep all themes and ideas there, but to help the story flow better, I will not be copying the script of the game word-for-word. Thank you!


	2. Flowey

"Carmen, you'd better hurry up! The fourth graders are playing tag!" A young girl called. Carmen ran towards her, brown pigtails bouncing. It wasn't often that she, a kindergartener, was invited to play with the fourth graders.

"Ben is it!" A young boy said, starting to run away from the blonde boy, most likely said 'Ben'. Carmen stood still, watching as the older boy started to run at her, not really knowing what to do.

Nobody had explained tag to her. She'd never played it before in he life, what with never having any friends, nor parents who had the time or energy to play with her. She'd heard of tag, but never had heard the rules, much less understood the point of the game.

"Ben! How do I play?" She asked as he drew closer. He slowed down. looking at Carmen with something between humor and pity.

"Well.." The boy smiled at her, lowering himself to look her in the eyes. "When I tag you, you get a point. You want as many points as possible."

Carmen nodded. The prospect made sense to her. It was like many other games.

"Okay...' She said, opening her arms to accept the point."

Ben reached out, knocking her over as he hit her chest. Carmen gasped, not being able to breathe for a moment.

But she still got the point.

"Carmen's it!' Ben shouted as he rushed away. Carmen slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Wait... but I got a point..." She said, looking at Ben, betrayed. The other children started to laugh, filling Carmen's head with bitter and harsh words.

"No... I..." She tried to say, but the words came out as garbled mush. Carmen stayed silent after that.

Carmen had a difficult time trusting after that.

Carmen rarely spoke to others.

Carmen never played tag again.

* * *

Everything snapped back into place in an instant.

Carmen hit the ground hard, her bones aching as she slowly sat up, assessing the area around her.

She'd fallen in a bunch of yellow flowers, which had cushioned her fall nicely. Nothing was around her except cold, rock walls.

"Where.. oh my gosh..." She gasped wide eyed. She looked down again, seeing her shirt had changed to some blue striped one. Her entire being had hanged. She was short, squat, and child-like in stance.

"I became... what was their name... Frisk?" She asked herself, trying to remember anything about this from her brother's conversations. The place looked somewhat familiar, and she knew that she now looked like the protagonist of the story.

"Crap... what am I supposed to do?" She wondered. "Am I trapped here? No... there must be an exit somewhere... this is just a game..." She looked around frantically, finally spotting a tunnel in the wall.

She got up, her bones aching from the fall. Slowly, she walked to the entrance, peering into the blackness. Ahead of her, she could see some sort of light illuminating a green patch.

As she drew near, a flower popped in front of her, smiling and bouncing a little.

"Howdy! You must be new to he underground!" It said. "My name is Flowey, Flowey the flower!"

Carmen racked her mind, trying to remember who Flowey was. Despite her efforts, she couldn't remember a thing about him. She assumed he was the tutorial to the game.

"Someone ought to show you how things work down here. I guess little ol' me will have to do," Flowey said, smiling charmingly. Carmen nodded, desperate for any information. He _was_ the tutorial. What luck.

"Anyways, see that little red heart in your chest?"

Carmen nodded.

"That's your SOUL, the very culmination of your being. It's small right now, but it will grow bigger when you gain LOVE."

Carmen nodded again, but felt a little lost on what Flowey meant by all this.

"We share LOVE through little 'friendliness pellets', you see?" Flowey said, summoning little white shapes around him. "Try and catch some to improve your LOVE!"

The pellets slowly made their way forward. Carmen stepped forward to accept them, glad for the help from the strange flower.

The pellets hit her, racking her entire body with sharp pain.

Carmen gasped, falling over from the shock. She felt a crack forming in her SOUL.

Now she remembered... when her brother was fighting that spider, he'd been hit by objects flying across the screen. White was dangerous.

"You idiot." Flowey's voice had changed. So had his face. "In this world, it's kill or be killed."

Carmen remembered a bit more about this flower. Her brother hated him.  
 _  
How stupid am I?_ She asked herself. _I gave him my trust, believing he was the tutorial!_  
 _  
"Die..."_ Flowey said. Carmen was surrounded by the white pellets, with no way of escape.

"No.. I...' She tried to say.. but the words came out as garbled mush.

The pellets advanced, and Carmen doubled up on herself, not sure of her fate. What happened if she died in this game?

The pellets came closer, almost touching her skin. Flowey stared from behind the flying white shapes, grinning and giggling madly. Carmen squeezed her eyes shut, not sure of her fate.

Fear filled her spirit.

Suddenly, heat surrounded Carmen. The pellets dissipated. Flowey stopped laughing.

Carmen slowly opened her eyes, seeing a figure standing nearby, her arms folded as she glared at the spot Flowey had been sitting in.

The flower had disappeared completely.


	3. Toriel

Carmen never liked speaking, really in general. Whenever she was around people, especially new people, she tended to remain silent whenever possible.

When she was young, between kindergarten and fifth grade, she hardly spoke at all. She would sometimes go days without uttering a single only people she was ever comfortable talking around was her brother, Chia, and Miss Jefferson. Not even her parents were close enough.

Most adults simply ignored her when she didn't speak, teachers especially. They were content to go about their own lives, letting her do her own thing. She got good grades, so nobody cared if she never spoke.

Miss Jefferson was a different case. She reached out to Carmen, even if she never once asked for help."Hey, Mute. Get your heads out of the clouds and into this research project," One of the girls in her newly formed research group just nodded, opening her textbook and beginning to read.

"Jenna, please apologize."

"What, Miss Jefferson?" The girl said, looking up as her name was called.

"That wasn't very nice of you to say. I'd appreciate it if you'd apologize to Carmen."

Jenna sighed and gave an apology, though an obviously half-hearted one.

Carmen barely registered it. She continued to read.

By the end of that day, her nickname 'The Mute' had been uttered over twenty times.

"Have a good day, everyone!" Miss Jefferson said, excusing the class. "Carmen, I'd like to speak wit you, please."

"The Mute is in trouble!" Several students throughout the classroom muttered, spreading rumors and gossip.

The students filed out, giggling and gossiping the whole way. Soon, it was only Carmen and Miss Jefferson.

"Carmen... are you alright?"

Carmen nodded, looking towards the window.

"The other students seem to pick on you an awful lot..." Miss Jefferson said, coming a little closer. "I just wanted to let you know that of you needed to talk with someone, I'm here."

Carmen's eyes snapped back to her teacher, and she smiled a little. "Thank you," She whispered, barely audible.

Miss Jefferson seemed relieved to hear any words, coming closer to pat Carmen on the head.

"I'm always here, child."

Carmen was soon able to speak more freely.

* * *

"What a miserable creature, attacking such a harmless child."

Carmen looked at the woman, her eyes widening as she reached out to her, taking her hand.

"Do not fear, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins." The woman smiled, showing fangs. She still didn't look threatening.

 _Toriel... who is that?_ Carmen wondering if she should trust this strange goat-like woman. She'd already made that mistake with Flowey.

Carmen looked up, not quite able to speak with her. She backed up a little ways, staring blankly at the woman.

"I will help guide you through the ruins, if you will let me," Toriel said, reaching out gently. Carmen slowly nodded, moving forwards slowly, her guard up.

"Come now, child," Toriel said, holding her hand and beginning to walk through the darkness.

Toriel's hand was incredibly soft. Carmen liked the feeling of fur against her skin.

"The ruins are filled with puzzles, like this one," Toriel said, coming to a series of buttons on the floor. "I'll solve this one... just a moment," She said, letting go of Carmen's hand. She walked over a series of buttons, opening the do _or._

"We'll encounter many more like this," Toriel said, again taking Carmen's hand. "You'll become used to them."

The entered the nest room, and stayed neatly on the path.

"Would you like to solve the puzzle in this room?" Toriel asked. Carmen looked up at her, her eyes wide.

"Worry not, child. I have marked the levers you need to push, go on ahead," Toriel urged, again letting go of Carmen's hand.

Carmen nodded slowly and set towards the first lever circled in bright yellow. as she pushed it, she could hear a slight rumbling. She moved to the next, pushing that. A loud click sounded through the room as the door opened.

"You've done well," Toriel praised her, leading the way to the next room.

Carmen missed the soft feeling of Toriel's fur.

The next room had a path marked in the dirt, turning for seemingly no reason at random points.

The path eventually led to a plane of iron spikes. Carmen's eyes widened as she looked for a way across or around. She couldn't find anything.

She eventually walked up and looked over the spikes, about to walk out.

 _If I die... the game resets, right?_ She thought, cautiously sticking her foot out. She felt a hand suddenly rest on her shoulder.

"Perhaps I should do this one..." Toriel said, biting her lip. "Puzzles seem a little to dangerous at the moment..."

Carmen just smiled reassuringly, taking Toriel's hand as she stepped out onto the spikes.

The spikes retracted as soon as Toriel's foot came near. Carmen watched as Toriel walked along, using a path she'd likely used many times.

The spikes never even once hurt her. Toriel safely guided her to the other side.

Carmen looked back at the bed of spikes, glad to be past them.

"You may run into other monsters in the Ruins," Toriel said softly. "If they should... em.. attack you, please don't fight back. Try and stall for time, and I will come and try to resolve the issue."

Carmen nodded, thinking of how Miss Jefferson would help to protect her from the teasing at school.

"Would you like to practice talking to this Dummy?" Toriel asked. Carmen blinked at her, and walked towards the dummy uncertainly. It seemed completely normal.

Carmen stared at it for a moment more before deciding to poke it, just to be sure.

"Hello..." She said softy, backing away slowly and shaking her head. She didn't want to talk to anyone. Especially not inanimate objects.

"Good job," Toriel said softly, smiling reassuringly. Carmen just stared at her, unsure of what she was supposed to do. Toriel stood there, as if expecting Carmen to do something, before turning away and entering the next room with a sigh. Carmen followed silently.

"I... have a difficult request to make of you now..." Toriel said. "I want you to cross this room all by yourself." Toriel took off, disappearing from view after just a moment.

Carmen just shrugged and began walking. The om was just like any other she'd been in thus far.

Suddenly, something jumped onto Carmen's head. In shock, she lashed out, her fist meeting smooth, rubbery, flesh.

She breathed heavily watching as the small creature, frog-like in stature and shape, stared up at her.

"I-I'm so s-sorry.." Carmen gasped out, looking at the bruise forming on it's skin. "I didn't men to..."

It breathed in, looking as if to make a move, before Toriel came from behind a pillar, glaring at it fiercely. The frog-like creature backed away slowly, hopping off.

"I'm very sorry about making you do that..." Toriel said, reaching out to Carmen. "I shouldn't have made you do that by yourself I was here the whole time..."

"I didn't mean.." Carmen said, staring at where the frog had been "I never wanted to hurt it..."

"It's alright, child. It was an accident," Toriel said soothingly. "I... have other things I must attend to. I'd like you to stay here and wait for me." Toriel hugged Carmen and handed her a device. "I'll keep in touch through this cell-phone."

Carmen stared at Toriel as she slowly backed away, smiling reassuringly at Carmen. "I'll be back soon. Please be good."


End file.
